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5.1. GUEUTAL AND T. B. JENKINS.

BENDING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED 0cT.2I. 19m.

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BENmNG MACHINE. APPLICATION FLED 0CT21. 191B.

Patented May 13, 1919.

2 SHEETS--SHEET 2.

ED ASTATES PATENT1 oEEIoE.

ERNEST J. GUTAL AND THOMAS B. JENKINS, Olliy RICHMOND, INDIANA,;ASSIGNORS TO JENKINS VULCAN SPRING- COMPANY, OF RICHMOND, INDIANA, .A CORPORATION OF ammiro-MACHINE.

INDIANA..

ySpecification of Letters Patent.

i Patented May 13, 1919.

Application led October, V21, 1918. Serial No. 258,937.

To all whom #may 'concerm Be it known that we, ERNEST J. GUnUTAL and THOMAS B. JENKINS, citizens of the United States, residing at Richmond, in the county pf Wayne and State of Indiana,have invented a new and useful Bending-Ma chine, of which the following is a specification.

The object 'of our invention is toproduce a machine for forming the leaves oi leaf springs.

'1`he accompanying drawings illustrate our invention. Figure 1 is a longitudinal vertical section of a machine embodying our invention, on line 1--1 of Fig. 2, and Fig. 2 a transverse section on line 2-2 of Fig. 1.

In the drawings, indicates a suitable tank capable of containing a considerable quantity of tempering Huid, such, for instance, as oil. Extending transversely across tank 10 and supported in suitable bearings,

. is a shaft 11 carrying a polygonal work head 12, at each corner of which is` provided a longitudinally-slotted frame 13, in which are slida'bly mounted several nuts 14 receiving adjustable abutment screws 15 which may be held in desired positions of adjustment by lock nuts 16. The several abutments 15 form supports for a pattern plate or bar 17 which rests upon the several abutment pins 15 and is held in'position at its center by a pin 18 carried by the middle screw 15 and passing through a suitable per- :toration in the pattern. The ends of the.

pattern are supported by clevises 19 which are adjustable lengthwise of the member 13 and are formed with a plurality of p eriorations, in a comrnon manner, to receive the ends of the pattern 17 at various positions of adjustment.

Pin 18 has suiiici'ent length to pass through a central perforation formed through the spring 20 which is to be formed.

Arranged upon each face of head 12 inf alinement with each set of adjusting screws 15, is a set of independently slidable Weights 21 held for sliding movement toward and from the pattern 17 by suitable guide barsl 22, 28. Fach of these weights 21 is formed at one end to en 'age and press upon the.

spring 20, these orming endsbeing preterably materially reduced 1n size so as to engage the springs 2O upon comparatively narrow transverse lines, es clearly indicated in Fig. 2, so that the tempering oil may, in due course, thoroughly contact with the sprlng. l

'lhe center weight 21 and at least one welght at each side of the center weight, as indicated at 21', is provided with a V-shaped notch 21 in its working end, said notch at its mouth being slightly wider than the width of spring20. Each weight 21 is provided in one face wlth a notch 24 adapted to receive a latch bar 25 carried by arms 25' pivoted on the h ead 12 and normally urged to latchin'g posltion by springs 26, 26. Notches 24 are so placed that, when bar 25 lies therein, the weights will be held at their most distant point relative to the com anion pattern 17.

The level of oil in tan 10 is high enough to submerge each spring-forming unit when it is brought to its lowest position, but not high enough to submerge the spring 20 when it is brought to asubstantially horizontal position, at whichtime the forming operation takes place.

Arranged in tank 10 is a suitable endless carrier adapted to receive and deliver thev completed springs. Shaft 11 may be either continuously driven at a suitable speed, or moved by a suitable stepbystep gearing. Arranged at a suitablepoint is a cam 31 adapted to engage arms 24 and withdraw latch bar 25 at about the time the corresponding set of weights 421 comeA to a ,vertical position above the companion pattern 17.

The operation is as follows: When each set .of weights 21 has reached the position at the right of Fig. 1, they have dropped, or slid by gravity, to a position most remote from the companion pattern 17 and the adjacent latch bar 25 has dropped into notches 24. 'Continued rotation of head 12 brings the weights to and through the position shown at the top of Fig. 1 and from thence toward the position shown at the left of Fig. 1. Until arms 24 come into contact with cams 31, the weights will be held up and prevented from sliding toward the pattern 17 and at some time prior to this engagement, a suitably heated spring member 20 will be placed in position adjacent its pattern, being approximately held in by spring fin ers 35 1g. l). Just as the parte reach t e position shown at the left' l l l l ositlon, 1f desired,

ef Fig. 1, .the nah bar 25 will b withdrawn', 'i

Y thus simultaneously releasing all the weights which are to bepermitted to slide,'and they descend by gravity upon the red-hot spring- 20. The weights having-bifurcated ends, will engage and straighten the spring relative to the pattern plate andthe other weights will 'come into engagement with the sprlng and lbend it downwardly upon thev pattern, this bending action taking place successively beneath' the various weights from the center outwardly lengthwise of the spring. The weights maintain their uid, the weights will slide backwardly on' head 12 so as to beretracted from the spring scribed hasbeen successively carried `on .by the oncoming forming units. It will be v tern member and a coperatin and the completed spring may then drop' from the pattern and .on to thecarrier 30 by which it will be 'discharged from the ma- (31111195 v i .i

In the meantime, the operation just dereadily understood that the precise number of formingunits to be carried by the head is not important, the number dependin upon the shape. and size of the head, the speed at which the machine is to be driven and the rapidity with which the operators may supply the machine with properly heated spring pieces 20.

It will be noted that, by arranging the plane of movement of the weigh-ts 21 parallel with the horizontal axis of shaft 11, the necessity of any mechanism for causin relative movement between the pattern 1 and the weights 21 to obtain the necessary forming force to act upon the pieces 20, is entirely avoided.

In order that the weights may be .individually locked against movement, so that those weights not required for bending short springs need not move, we-provide bars 22 with perforations 40 opposite each wei ht 21 and each of the weights is provided wlth a corresponding perforation 41, so that locking pins 42'may be inserted and thus hold against movement those weights which are not needed in any particular operation.

We claim as our invention:

1. A bending machine comprising) a patending member, one movable toward an from the other by gravity, and a support for said two A 1,sos,e57

membersi movablelv about a horizontal axis, i'rst to a 'position where the movable member lwill separate from the other member and then to a position where the movable member will approach the other member.

f2. Afbending machine comprisin a pattern .member and a coperating ending member, one movable toward and from the other by gravity, a support for said two members movable about a horizontal axis Vfirst to a pOSition where the movable member will separate from the other member and then to a position J where lthe movable memmh ber willapproach'the other member, andA i means for .normally preventing the appreaching movement;

-3. A bending machine'comprising a head rotatable about a horizontal axis, a plurality of bending units carried by said head, each of said bending units comprising a' attern member and a Vcoperating ben ing member, one movable toward and from the other by gravity, the movable mernber bein lso placed relative to the axis of the he that it Vwill move alternately by gravity toward and from the other member, and means for normally. preventingv the approaching movement.

` 4. A bending machine comprising a head rotatable about a horizontal axis, a plurality of bending units carried by said head, each of said bending units comprising a pattern member and a ooperating bending member,

l `one movable toward and from the other by gravity, the movable member bein so laced relative to the yaxis of the head t at 1t will g move alternately by gravity toward and from the other member.

5. A bending machine comprising a head mounted to rotate about a horizontal axis, and a plurality of bending units carried by said headin circumferentially spaced relationship, each of said bending units comprising a Ipattern mem-ber and a plurality of movable weights arranged lengthwise of the pattern member and each' movable toward and from the pattern member by gravity as the head swings about its axis.

6. A bending machine comprising a head mounted to rotate about a horizontal axis, a plurality of bending units carried by said head in circumferentially spaced relationship, each of said bending units comprising a pattern member and a plurality of movable weights arranged lengthwise of the pattern member and each movable toward and from the pattern member by gravity as the head swings about its axis, and means forl said bendin members being movable toward and from t e pattern member as the head swings about its axis.

8. A Ibending machine comprising a swinging head mounted upon a horizontal axis, a pattern member carried by said head, a plurality of bending members arranged lengthwise of the pattern member, said bending members being movable toward and from the pattern mem'ber as the head swings about its axis, and means vengaging said bending members for normally holding them against movement toward the pattern member.

9. A bending machine comprising a pattern member, `a pivotal support for the article to be bent associated with said pattern member, and a plurality of bending members arranged lengthwise of the pattern member and movable toward and from the pattern member, that bending member in alinement With the pivotal support, and a bending member longitudinally spaced `from said last-mentioned bending member, having their Working ends notched -to straddle the article to be bent to straighten the same rela tive to the pattern as a preliminary to final bending.`

In Witness whereof, We have hereunto set our hands at Richmond, Indiana, this 16th day of Oct., A. D. one thousand nine hundred and eighteen.

ERNEST J. GUEUTAL.

THOMAS B. JENKIN S. 

